New York energy storage project wins $17M loan guarantee

The US Dept. of Energy finalized $17.1 million loan guarantee to support energy storage project in Johnston City, N.Y.

The U.S. Dept. of Energy has finalized a $17.1 million loan guarantee to support a utility-scale energy storage project in Johnston City, N.Y.

The loan guarantee will underpin the construction of a 20-MW facility using lithium-ion battery technology, in a project being developed by AES Westover, part of AES Corporation of Arlington, Va.

The DOE said the project would help provide a more stable and efficient electrical grid for the state’s high-voltage transmission network.

The AES project will make use of advanced lithium-ion battery cells supplied by A123 Systems Inc., which assembles, tests, and validates its battery systems at a facility in Hopkinton, Mass.

The energy storage facility will be used to provide short bursts of power for the grid during periods of peak demand, replacing the use of fossil fuel power plants in regulating the New York electricity network. It would be charged up during periods of low electricity demand.

Officials said the technology could help reduce the carbon emissions by 70% compared to fossil fuel-based frequency regulation, and would also mean lower-cost regulation for the grid.